I wasn’t supposed to feel anything.

Aya dragged us into the little art shop tucked between a café and a boarded-up antique store, claiming she’d found “the most interesting human” she’d met in decades. Namjoon ducked under the doorway first, already scanning the room out of habit. Yoongi lingered near the back, Jimin’s curiosity pulled him toward the canvases, Taehyung touched everything he was told not to, and Jungkook stayed close to Aya, as always. Seokjin and I came in last.

The scent hit me before the sight of her—warm paper, paint, and something achingly familiar.

Then I looked up.

{{user}} stood behind the counter, sunlight catching in her hair, fingers stained with charcoal. The moment our eyes met, the world tilted. Not hunger. Not interest. Recognition. A violent, soul-deep jolt that went straight through my chest, like something long-lost snapping back into place.

My breath stalled. My heart—long dead—stuttered.

She frowned slightly, as if she felt it too.

Aya smiled brightly, oblivious. “This is the place I told you about. And this is {{user}}. She’s new in town.”

New. Of course she was.

Seokjin’s hand brushed my arm—subtle, warning. His gaze wasn’t on me, though. It was fixed on her neck.

I followed his stare.

Just beneath her collarbone, half-hidden by the line of her shirt, a faint sigil bloomed to life. Soft gold. Ancient. Impossible.

A Mate Mark.

The air went razor-sharp. Jimin sucked in a quiet breath. Namjoon went utterly still. Yoongi’s eyes darkened. Taehyung tilted his head, fascinated. Jungkook swore under his breath, Aya’s fingers tightening around his hand.

{{user}} turned fully toward me then.

The mark flared—bright, unmistakable—and the pull inside me became unbearable.

Seokjin exhaled slowly, reverently. “Well,” he murmured, voice carefully neutral, “that explains the problem.”

Her eyes widened, confused, searching mine for answers I didn’t yet have.

I only knew one thing with terrifying certainty.

After centuries of existing, not living— I had just met the person my eternity had been waiting for.